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Night terrors in cockatiels

anurim

Strolling the yard
Joined
1/16/20
Messages
148
Hi! I'm not sure if I posted this under the right subject, so sorry if it does not qualify for ''Behavior Byway''.
So, last night my cockatiel had his first night terror, and I mean his real one. He has had 2 before, but weren't really night terrors, as they were caused by two earthquakes. So around 12 am last night he strated flapping like crazy in his cage, and I immediately got up, opened the light and let him calm a bit. His cage was covered (as it has been for the past 5 months since I got him), but there was still some light in the room from the tv. I waited for him to get on my hand and watched to see if he injured himself. He wouldn't move for around 2 minutes, probably from the shock, but after that he was fine and he went to sing in front of his mirror. I said, ok, let's put you back to sleep now. I didn't cover his cage now, and there was light coming from the outside of my bedroom, so it wasn't pitch black in the room. After half an hour, he had it again. I got up quickly, as I was sleeping, opened the light and did the things as before. I opened my LED lights, so there would be some light in the room and opened the tv. I left him up on my dresser, hoping that he would go to sleep there. He didn't, he was just playing around so I once again put him back in his cage, gave him so millet but left the door open so if he had one again, he could get out easily. Well, he had one once again! He did get out and flew right on the tv. I left him alone to see what he would do, and he just fell asleep on the tv. It was already 2 am, so his night terrors were pretty constant, every 40 minutes or so. He is fine, he doesn't seem injured, he flies just fine, eats just fine and plays around the room. Has anyone experienced this? Like more night terrors in the same night? I don't know what I should do this evening. Put him back in the cage and hope he won't have them? Let him outside? Any ideas?
 

Mktiel012

Moving in
Joined
3/31/20
Messages
14
First of all I'm not an expert..I have them since almost a year now..
Are there any other pets in your house ?
Cockatiels generally get scared easily..
If they see any shadow, at night they get scared easily...they are generally very sensitive specie parrot ...
My cockatiels are not hand tamed..they are placed in a closed verandas, near window ..my windows are mercury glass ..so outside stray cats cant see them but at night when lights are on they can..

I always put a cloth around the cage at night during sleep..partially ..

The Incident you faced has happened with me too..
Like I said they are very sensitive whether they see a shadow or they dont at night..( sometimes this happens)
Night light or LED light you mentioned is enough..
It's good you checked if your cockatiel was injured or not..
Once
What I did, I kept the light on..room light was on whole night ..and they became okay..
Two three times what I did I placed the whole cage in tv lounge only at night time..( as I have mentioned stray cats in my house , they come and go )..
And they were fine...
This is what I did

I hope it helped ..
 

anurim

Strolling the yard
Joined
1/16/20
Messages
148
No, I do not have any other pets. I was alone in the room (with him of course), I will try to keep an eye on him to see if this repeats but I hope not. Thanks!
 

sunnysmom

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Shadows, car lights, etc can frighten a tiel. I always cover my tiels for that reason and leave a gap in the covering and have a night light on. Hopefully, whatever startled him won't happen again. You may also want to think about a white noise machine if it could be sounds that are scaring him.
 

Tiel Feathers

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Is the TV making shadows and movements through the cover? This would be my guess as to what is going on. Even the light from a phone as you move it or lights from a passing car could be enough to set them off. Rodents, bugs or other pets might also frighten them. My tiels sleep in a practically pitch black closet, and they haven’t had a night frights in years.
 

anurim

Strolling the yard
Joined
1/16/20
Messages
148
Is the TV making shadows and movements through the cover? This would be my guess as to what is going on. Even the light from a phone as you move it or lights from a passing car could be enough to set them off. Rodents, bugs or other pets might also frighten them. My tiels sleep in a practically pitch black closet, and they haven’t had a night frights in years.
I don't know what to tell you. It may have been the tv as you say, but I'm surprised he got scared 3 times in the same night, when the TV wasn't on for all 3 times. I guess he just had a rough night, I'll keep an eye on him tonight!
 

anurim

Strolling the yard
Joined
1/16/20
Messages
148
Shadows, car lights, etc can frighten a tiel. I always cover my tiels for that reason and leave a gap in the covering and have a night light on. Hopefully, whatever startled him won't happen again. You may also want to think about a white noise machine if it could be sounds that are scaring him.
thanks! I'll see if he still continues to have these night frights and see if I'll need to buy a white noise machine.
 
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